


Loyalty

by MDST3559014



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Gen, Horde, Missing Scene, One Shot, Self-Reflection, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Season 4 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22809199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MDST3559014/pseuds/MDST3559014
Summary: After the transport incident in the Whispering Woods, Lonnie starts to reassess her priorities. She’s always been a soldier, a good soldier. But can she fight for the Horde anymore? Takes place after Protocol (S4 E5), Lonnie’s first thoughts on deflecting.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	Loyalty

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thank you for all the love on this short little story! The user [elrohir](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrohir/pseuds/elrohir%20podfic) made a lovely podfic of this story [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22827754). Check it out if you like this story!

Something changed in Lonnie when they damaged the armor plating to save Kyle. Her first willful act of disobedience as a soldier. To save a friend, Kyle. Someone who was constantly getting in their way, constantly ruining the missions, constantly getting _her_ in trouble. But a friend nonetheless. And she wasn’t going to sit by and let her friend burn because Catra would be disappointed if she didn’t.  
  
But that was the thing. Catra was her Force Captain, her commander. She _should_ have sat by, because it was an order, because she was a good soldier, and because good soldiers always followed orders.  
  
But she didn’t. And that confused her, stumped her even. At first, she thought that the decision was mostly to spite Catra. And it was a bit. She hated Catra, had always hated Catra. But there was more to this. Catra wasn’t the same lazy underachiever that she was when Adora was around. Not by a longshot. Catra had turned the whole situation around. Lonnie didn’t hate Catra now because Catra didn’t push hard enough. Lonnie hated Catra now because Catra pushed too far. Ever since becoming Force Captain, ever since Adora left, Catra’s had something to prove. She’s had to prove that she could be enough, that she could be the new Adora, that she could be better even. But better in the Horde means more ruthless, crueler, untiring. Catra used to be their friend, even if she was never particularly nice. She used to talk to them, to train with them, and to joke around with them. Now, Catra only uses them to push her goals forward. She forgot that they were people, acted like they should be invincible. They were constantly disappointments to her, and that day on the transport Lonnie had realized that no matter what she did, no matter how good of a soldier she was, she could never be enough for Catra. And as long as Catra was her Force Captain, she could never be enough for the Horde.  
  
And sitting there, watching Kyle recover from the burns that Catra had volunteered him for, she didn’t want to be enough for the Horde anymore. She didn’t feel bad that she had disobeyed orders. She was glad that they’d saved Kyle, even if it meant damaging the armor plating. Even if it meant damaging the Horde.  
  
When did Kyle and Rogelio become more important than the Horde?  
  
She thought back to what Kyle was saying before he went outside. 

_You guys are the only family I’ve ever had._  
That was true, even if you ignored the sappiness. They grew up together. They were raised together in the Fright Zone. Pretty basic definition of family. Should you really consider other Horde soldiers your family? Probably not, but you can’t be expected to abandon all attachments. You should like your unit at least, and you should definitely be able to trust them. It makes for better soldiers.  
  
And wasn’t protecting your fellow soldiers a good thing? Wasn’t that productive, good for the Horde? But Catra wouldn’t see it that way. Catra wouldn’t care that they _had_ to damage the armor _to save Kyle’s life_ . Catra would probably be happier if they came back, just Lonnie and Rogelio, with perfect armor plating and minus one Kyle. The thought made Lonnie grimace.  
  
Adora wouldn’t have wanted Kyle to get hurt. If Adora were still their Force Captain, she would be glad that they saved Kyle. She wouldn’t have cared about a few damaged armor plates. She would’ve found a way to explain it to her superiors. She wouldn’t have put everything on them. She wouldn’t have put a few pieces of armor before her friend’s life.  
  
But Adora was gone.  
  
Maybe that was it? Maybe it wasn’t Lonnie who had changed, but the Horde. When Adora left, things had shifted. Missions that used to be considered important were now dire. Soldiers who used to be valued were now expendable. _They_ were expendable. Lonnie didn’t want to be expendable. Not for this new Horde, not for this cause where no one valued your loyalty or your effort or your track record anymore. That was it. Lonnie hadn’t changed, hadn’t become a bad soldier. The Horde had changed into a dark, messy, hardened cause, and Lonnie had not changed with it. 

  
But what did that mean for them? What did that mean when they got back to the Fright Zone, with a damaged transport and damaged armor plating? And what about the next mission, the next time that Lonnie was expected to forgo her friend’s safety, her friend’s life, for the Horde? Lonnie was the toughest of all of them. If she was struggling to be tough enough, Rogelio and Kyle wouldn’t make it. They couldn’t last forever in this new Horde. If they kept disobeying orders, they’d be _dealt with_ . If they followed orders, they’d be dead.  
  
This was why Adora left. It wasn’t because she didn’t care about them or because she was disloyal. It was because she could see where the Horde was going, and she could tell that her loyalty only meant so much to them. It was leave or die.  
  
Leave or die.  
  
The transport was reaching the edge of the Fright Zone. In a few minutes, Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle would be back, would have to explain, and would have to be presentable soldiers again. She looked between Rogelio, piloting the ship, and Kyle, waking up from his rest. She straightened her back, took a deep breath, and made a decision.  
  
“Hey guys,” she paused. “I think I have a plan.”


End file.
